Calling in the Report to Police

When you report something, dispatchers will have many questions. A few of the most important are:

What is happening?

Is anyone hurt?

Is this happening NOW; did it happen a few minutes ago; is it delayed? Police response differs greatly, according to the time delay.

Listen to the questions being asked. There may be a lot of them, but the information you are giving is being put into a computer that sends it right to the dispatcher. There is very little delay between you telling us and it being given out.

If a suspect or vehicle is involved in the situation, you will be asked for descriptions. In an emergency situation, you may only get a few of the items below; when time allows, try for as many as you can.